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Sunday, 8 April 2012

Step Back In Time - Gregg's Table (at Bermondsey Hotel), London SE1

On a recent visit to José Tapas and Sherry bar, M and I decided to take a stroll around Bermondsey and that is how we stumbled upon this new restaurant by one of the MasterChef judges, Gregg Wallace. On the screen , he is the lovely cheeky chappie that everyone loves and I too am a fan of his easy and pleasant on screen persona. Despite the fact that we just had a full meal, we just felt we ought to pop in for some puddings.

Situated at the Bermondsey Hotel, the facade of the restaurant were all decked out with what looked like garden furniture draped with gingham tablecloths. It's rather quaint but not the most inviting introduction to the restaurant.

It was quiet and dead as a dodo inside. To be fair, it was in the late Sunday afternoon. Having said that, the cafe/restaurant opposite looked busy and was filled with diners sitting in the outdoor area.

The interior was simple and decidedly retro, hark back to the 70s which was what the owner himself was trying to recreate. The usage of pastel colours and dashes of canary yellow dotted around further contributed to this nolstagic ambiance. In a corner, there was a display of stacked tinned spam, OXO cubes, Marmite and other processed food of the yesteryear.

These were all very well, if only it has been brought up to date with a little bit more thought. By literally transporting the entire era into a venue, it all looked very tired and bland.

M decided on the cherry muffins and cappuccino; I went for the Knickerbocker glory and latte. The service were soulless, other the chirpy manager, the rest of the waiter/waitress seemed unenthusiastic and lacklustre. Compared to the service we just received at José, this was a disappointment.

The cherry muffin were moist and rather good, not too sweet and has a really nice texture and flavour. My knickerbocker glory, however, arrived looking like an a inferno tower and just as it landed before me, the solitary wafer decided to make a run for it! The waitress tried very careful to straighten it but it was having none of it and slipped out of the whipped cream mess and onto the table. She apologised, picked up the wafer and promised to come back with another one. Within minutes, two wafers appeared before my very eyes; all laid out on a dish lined with paper doilies, just when I thought things couldn't get any more nolstagic.

Once I got passed the pile of creamy mess, the chocolate ice cream was good, but the fruit cocktails of melon and mango were brittle and tasteless, obviously weren't ripen and at it's best. Even the trembling jelly had no taste. The coffee were ordinary and far too milky for my liking.

I have held back on writing this review thinking that I ought to give it another chance and pop back for a meal before I make up my mind about this place. However, a few days ago when I was back in Bermondsey, I find myself shuddering at the mere thought of returning to Gregg's Table again.

If you are a huge fan of all things 70s, maybe you will enjoy the venue better that I did. Let me know. Unfortunately, this just isn't for me.